You Can Bake 'Wine Flour' into Your Next Cake

Two things that you might not expect to go together have joined forces to be the latest kitchen essential you didn’t know you needed: It’s called wine flour, and it is exactly what it sounds like.

The flour is made from the mashed grapes left over during the winemaking process, according to WSKG News. One version, called Finger Lakes Wine Flour, produced by Hillary Niver-Johnson, a graduate of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, is meant to be a baking supplement, rather than a substitute for the flour you already use. That means that you’d combine it with the all-purpose flour for your next cake or batch of cookies to help pack a more nutritious punch than your average baked good.

“...It’s really high in fiber, protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Because of the high fiber and protein, in each pound, you have 150 grams of fiber and 150 grams of protein, and it’s really water absorbent, so you just have to use a little bit to get the color, flavor, and nutrition," Niver-Johnson explained.

Cooking Light elaborates on how the purple-hued flour is made: The leftover grapes, called pomace, are harvested, the seeds and skins separated and then each is milled and combined to create the flour. It can also be used to make pasta and even granola bars.

Niver-Johnson set up shop in her hometown of Hector, New York, which is surrounded by wineries. She supplies her own bins, only requesting that they provide her with the leftover grapes, which would usually end up in the trash.

Right now, she sells the flour in upstate New York and recently began selling it in California, too, although you can buy her whole range of products on her Etsy shop. She makes versions from Merlot, Riesling, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir, among others. There are only three employees running the business, but Niver-Johnson says she hopes to start selling the flour in Wegmans grocery stores soon.